Two new food halls are landing in Philly, which raises a question: What’s a food hall, exactly?

Should we be excited, or is a food hall just a glorified version of a food court? Do food halls bring something genuinely different and elevated? Are they all alike? Or are food halls more like snowflakes — no two are created exactly the same, with different business models and food philosophies?

Annie Allman, the CEO of Reading Terminal Market , defined food halls as “a collection of prepared food or dining operators that operate in a shared space.”

While some may think Allman runs the GOAT of Philly Food Halls, they’d be technically incorrect. As a nonprofit organization that also sells raw products, Reading Terminal is categorized as a public market. Still, as an expert in good food, goo

See Full Page